Criteria

Program Outcomes and Assessment

Program Outcomes (POs) are narrower statements that describe what students are expected to know and be able to do by the time of graduation. These relate to the knowledge, skills and attitudes that students acquire while progressing through the program. The program must demonstrate that by the time of graduation, students have achieved an acceptable minimum level of certain knowledge, skills and behavioral traits. The BAETE specifically requires that students acquire the following graduate attributes:

(a) Engineering knowledge: Apply the knowledge of mathematics, science, engineering fundamentals and an engineering specialization to the solution of complex engineering problems.

(b) Problem analysis: Identify, formulate, research and analyze complex engineering problems and reach substantiated conclusions using the principles of mathematics, the natural sciences and the engineering sciences.

(c) Design/development of solutions: Design solutions for complex engineering problems and design system components or processes that meet the specified needs with appropriate consideration for public health and safety and of cultural, societal and environmental concerns.

(e) Modern tool usage: Create, select and apply appropriate techniques, resources and modern engineering and IT tools, including prediction and modeling, to complex engineering activities with an understanding of their limitations.

(f) The engineer and society: Apply reasoning informed by contextual knowledge to assess societal, health, safety, legal and cultural issues and the consequent responsibilities relevant to professional engineering practice.

(g) Environment and sustainability: Understand the impact of professional engineering solutions in societal and environmental contexts and demonstrate the knowledge of and need for sustainable development.

(h) Ethics: Apply ethical principles and commit to the professional ethics, responsibilities and the norms of the engineering practice.

(i) Individual work and teamwork: Function effectively as an individual and as a member or leader of diverse teams and in multidisciplinary settings.

(j) Communication: Communicate effectively about complex engineering activities with the engineering community and with society at large. Be able to comprehend and write effective reports, design documentation, make effective presentations and give and receive clear instructions.

(k) Project management and finance: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of engineering and management principles and apply these to one’s work as a team member or a leader to manage projects in multidisciplinary environments.

(l) Life-long learning: Recognize the need for and have the preparation and ability to engage in independent, life-long learning in the broadest context of technological change.

In addition to incorporating the above-listed POs, the educational institution may include additional outcomes in its learning programs. An engineering program that aims to develop the abovementioned POs must ensure that its curriculum encompasses all the desired elements of the knowledge profile, as presented in Table 1. The ranges of Complex Problem Solving and Complex Engineering Activities are given in Tables 2 and 3, respectively.

Table 1: Knowledge Profile

Attribute

K1

A systematic, theory-based understanding of the natural sciences applicable to the discipline

K2

Conceptually based mathematics, numerical analysis, statistics and formal aspects of computer and information science to support analysis and modelling applicable to the discipline

K3

A systematic, theory-based formulation of engineering fundamentals required in the engineering discipline

K4

Engineering specialist knowledge that provides theoretical frameworks and bodies of knowledge for the accepted practice areas in the engineering discipline; much is at the forefront of the discipline

K5

Knowledge that supports engineering design in a practice area

K6

Knowledge of engineering practice (technology) in the practice areas in the engineering discipline

K7

Comprehension of the role of engineering in society and of the identified issues in engineering practice in the discipline: ethics and the engineer’s professional responsibility to public safety; the impacts of engineering activity in economic, social, cultural, environmental and sustainability terms

K8

Engagement with selected knowledge in the research literature of the discipline

Table 2: Range of Complex Problem* Solving

Attribute

Complex Problems

Range of conflicting requirements

Involve wide-ranging or conflicting technical, engineering and other issues

Depth of analysis required

Have no obvious solution and require abstract thinking and originality in analysis to formulate suitable models.

Depth of knowledge required

Require research-based knowledge, much of which is at or informed by the forefront of the professional discipline, that allows a fundamental-based, first-principles analytical approach

Familiarity of issues

Involve infrequently encountered issues

Extent of applicable codes

Are outside the problems encompassed by standards and codes of practice for professional engineering

Extent of stakeholder involvement and level of conflicting requirements

Involve diverse groups of stakeholders with widely varying needs

Consequences

Have significant consequences in a range of contexts

Interdependence

Are high-level problems that include many component parts or sub-problems

Table 3: Range of Complex Engineering Activities**

Attribute

Complex Problems

Range of resources

Involve the use of diverse resources (for this purpose, resources include people, money, equipment, materials, information and technologies)

Level of interaction

Require the resolution of significant problems arising from interactions between wide-ranging or conflicting technical, engineering or other issues

Innovation

Involve the creative use of engineering principles and research-based knowledge in novel ways

Consequences for society and the environment

Have significant consequences in a range of contexts, characterized by their difficulty of prediction and mitigation

Familiarity

Are outside the problems encompassed by standards and codes of practice for professional engineering

*Engineering problems that cannot be resolved without in-depth engineering knowledge and have some or all of the characteristics mentioned in Table2.

** Complex activities are (engineering) activities or projects that have some or all of the characteristics mentioned in Table 3.

The program should describe the process involved in defining and redefining the POs. The correlation between the POs and the PEOs is to be provided by mapping the POs onto PEOs to establish the contribution of the POs to the attainment of the PEOs. Similarly, the correlation between the Course Outcomes (COs) and POs should be demonstrated through the mapping of COs onto POs. The way that assessment tools and laboratory and project coursework contribute to the attainment of the POs should be demonstrated through rubrics or mapping exercises.

For each course, a course file is expected to be maintained. The course file may include the assessment of outcomes, curriculum, exam questions and answer scripts, the results of other assessments, and a summary of performance and attainment with suggestions or feedback for future development.

POs may be assessed using direct and indirect methods. Direct methods of assessment are accomplished through the direct examination or observation of students’ knowledge or skills against measurable performance indicators. Indirect methods of assessment are based on opinions or self-reports from different stakeholders. Rubrics are useful tools for indirect assessment.